Pokémon Sun and Moon: Soulstorm
by DAORON
Summary: Sent to another world? Nothing new. Pokémon? Awesome! My old teammates from back in the day? Even better! The anime? I kinda only played the games... YOLO! [Red Recsue Team x Sun and Moon anime, starring characters from my very first playthrough of the game.]
1. Chapter 1

**Third World's the Charm**

 _"I am no stranger to finding myself in strange places suddenly. The first time was when I suddenly woke up in the Pokémon World and on top of that got turned into one. Other times were when either I used an Orb to get my Team the hell out of dodge or a psychic-type thought it was funny to leave me dangling above the next best cliff he or she could find. So, I was actually pretty calm and collected when I suddenly found myself in your world. Aside from one minor thing..."_

Tapu-Koko enjoyed flying through the skies of Alola a great deal, so much in fact that it had become part of his morning routine to fly around, while at the same time checking up if everything on the island he was assigned to was alright. He pitied everyone, be they pokémon or human, that wasn't capable of flying. Of course, humans had found a way to mitigate this with airplanes or merely asking a pokémon capable of flight for help, but still most ground dwellers never in their lives experience the wind rushing against their face or the excitement that build up in their stomach when they took a ninety-degree dive.

Speaking of dives, Tapu-Koko decided to take one right into the trees of a nearby forest. Using one of his shields attached to his arms, he protected his face from the incoming branches. When he was about to hit the ground, the guardian deity pulled up and continued his travel between the trees. He didn't even bother slowing down, simply using his superior reaction speed to dodge every tree he might accidentally crash into. This would be impossible for most other pokémon, but Tapu-Koko was no ordinary pokémon.

In a matter of minutes, he had passed almost through the entire forest and would soon come out the other end, where the humans had build one of their cities. Usually Tapu-Koko directly ascended into the sky once again at this point, however, on that day, he did something different. He came to a full stop on this day, because something had caught his attention during his flight. Turning around in mid-air, the guardian deity chose a somewhat casual speed to retrace his steps. It didn't take long for the guardian deity to find what it had spotted earlier.

There was a human lying on the ground, seemingly unconscious. Alarmed, the guardian deity immediately flew down and checked up on the human. It appeared to be a male one of slightly above average height. He had black hair that reached the tip of his ears, wore a grey t-shirt that had a golden, winged badge attached to it. He also wore light-blue shorts and blue/red shoes.

Tapu-Koko moved close to the human's head and held his own above the mouth of the human. Luckily the deity could feel a slow, steady breath coming out of it. At least that meant he was alive. Further inspection of the body also showed no apparent injuries. Still, this was a weird place for a human to take a nap or go to sleep in general.

The electric and fairy-type decided it was best to wake up the human and see if everything was alright. As such he started shaking the human, gently at first, but a little rougher after the first few seconds. The pokémon was about to send light electric shocks through the human, but before he could do so, he heard a groan escaping the throat of the human on the ground. Tapu-Koko flew a little bit backward and watched as the human male slowly stirred awake. At first, he moved up one arm and put it on his stomach. Then slowly but surely he moved up his upper body, supporting it by using the other arm.

"Ow..."

More groans escaped the human, as he slowly rubbed his hand over his stomach. He tried opening his eyes, but got blinded by the light of the sun and closed them again. In order to mitigate that, he turned his head around and opened his eyes again, revealing their color to be a mix of green and brown.

"Oh man," the human spoke with a sore throat. "My stomach feels like it's been on a rollercoaster." The human set up and took a look at his surroundings. The guardian deity watched with slight worry, as the humans eyes shot wide open as if he had been woken up by lightning. His concerns only increased, when the human male suddenly sat up, only for his stomach to seemingly act up. He groaned in pain and curled into a half-ball.

"Are you not feeling well?" The question came out of Tapu-Koko's mouth on instinct. Of course, he knew humans couldn't understand his exact words, but at least they could interpret the tone in his voice. And while he usually only interacted with humans that had taken his interest, but he wouldn't just leave the human be, just because he wasn't interesting to the guardian deity.

"Man..." the male human groaned and turned his head to where he heard Tapu-Koko's voice coming from.

"Huh, what?" the human mumbled and blinked a couple of times. The guardian deity waited for the human to gather himself before he would speak up again. Said human rubbed his eyes with his arm, before looking up again. Almost as soon as he did, the hairless monkey jerked backward, taking Tapu-Koko slightly by surprise.

"What the hell, a pokémon?!" the human shouted on top of his lungs.

"Huh, what?!" Tapu-Koko shouted being surprised himself, not expecting this reaction, although in hindsight he should have expected something like this.

"Wait a second," the human continued "TAPU-KOKO?!" the human shouted even louder, than before, something Tapu-Koko thought was not possible.

"What the hell?!" the male human looked around in a frantic fashion. His head snapped around so fast, the electric and fairy-type half-expected it to come off, like a poorly made disguise of a Mimikyu. Finally, his eyes fell upon the pokémon once again.

"Okay, gotta stay cool, gotta stay cool," the human said to himself. "It's not the first time this has happened."

"Not the first time?" Tapu-Koko repeated, crossing his arms and tilting his head. "Do you fall asleep on the forest floor all the time?"

The human's expression turned into a deadpan. "Hilarious, dude. I wanna see you stay cool when you get randomly teleported somewhere in the middle of the day."

It was the pokémon's turn to jerk backward. "What?! Did you understand me?" the deity inquired.

"Gngh," the human flinched and rubbed over his stomach again. "Yeah man. I can understand you. Ungn..."

For a couple of seconds, Tapu-Koko could only stare at the human in front of him, as he was wincing in pain. Sure the guardian deity had heard of so-called pokémon interpreters, but those humans mostly relied on reading body language or so he had been told. But this one, did he really understand Tapu-Koko? He decided to test it.

"If you can understand me, then tell me what type Geodude is," the deity demanded.

"Normal or Alolan variant?" the human asked in return between groans. "Fuck it, in Alola it's rock-electric, everywhere else rock-ground."

Now Tapu-Koko was convinced that this human indeed understood him. He may not have been interesting before, but now he was fascinating indeed. However, the human was also hurting and this needed to be addressed immediately.

"Is there any way I can help you?" the pokémon asked. What followed was the stomach of the human making all kinds of rumbling noises that didn't sound healthy at all. Tapu-Koko grew even more worried, but it looked like the human was relaxing a bit.

"I don't take teleports all too well," the human explained. "Here we go." The human put both hands on the ground and pushed himself up.

"Be careful," Tapu-Koko advised and flew right next to the human, making sure he didn't fall to the ground. Luckily it looked like the human managed to keep his balance and stood straight up. The human proceeded to stretch himself, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Not really," the human shook his head. "But I'll manage. I'm actually more worried that I just got teleported into a random place. Again."

"Again?!" the pokémon echoed. "Wait, are you saying a pokémon teleported you into this forest?" the guardian deity asked. The human looked at the pokémon and nodded.

"Most likely. At least that was the case all the other times some psychic-type pulled a prank on me," he explained with a pained expression. "I can count on one hand how many times I actually wanted to be teleported somewhere. Anyways, that's not really important right now."

"Oh, I disagree," Tapu-Koko said sternly. "If there is a pokémon out there on this island that teleports people for fun to some place or other, then I need to have a stern talking to him or her."

"Eh..." the human put his hands behind his head, a sheepish smile appearing on his face. "Have you ever heard of a country called Germany?"

Tapu-Koko looked dumbfounded at the human.

"By the way, my name's Sebastian. Just call me Seb, though. Nice to meet you."

* * *

While Tapu-Koko and Sebastian were getting acquainted with each other, two pokémon that are already very well acquainted with each other were wandering on the beach. These two pokémon were the electric mouse Pikachu and the disaster-pokémon Absol. Each of them wore a red scarf around their neck with the Pikachu having a golden badge attached to her piece of clothing. Additionally, the Absol had a pink box with white lit strapped around her body and was carrying it dutifully. As the two pokémon followed the sandy beach, they drew the occasional curious glance from the one or other human.

"I have seen a lot of things in my life," the Absol spoke, as she looked around "but I never thought I would ever see so many humans at once." The dark-type looked down at her friend when she saw sparks escaping the red cheeks of the electric-type. "Are you alright?"

"Grr, I am not sure whether to be happy or to be furious," Pikachu explained, to which Absol raised an eyebrow. "A part of me wants to hug Jirachi for the opportunity he has given us, while the other part of me wants to deep fry him for screwing up so much."

Absol let out a sigh. "I told you I had a bad feeling about this. And Jirachi himself told us he had no idea what would happen."

"I know, I know," Pikachu angrily waved with her paw. "I was the one who insisted on going through with this, even though I knew it was risky. I should be happy that we at least get the chance of seeing him again. All we have to do now is to find him."

"Easier said than done," Absol mused. "We have never seen him in his human form. And there are so many of them. I don't know which one we should ask for directions first. Do any of them even know who Sebastian is?"

Pikachu let out a frustrated sigh and frowned. But just as quickly as it appeared, his frown was replaced with a smile, as a metaphorical light bulb appeared above her head.

"We can show them my badge!" she exclaimed, holding out her scarf. "I'm sure Seb has worn his badge a ton of times! Someone has to have seen him wearing it! That way we should be able to find him in a jiffy!"

Absol thought about the suggestion for a bit, before nodding. "This might actually work. Although given the number of humans in this area, it might still take a while to get the information we seek. Let's start with this one over there."

Absol pointed with her paw towards a brown skinned human with white hair. Like most humans, he wore a lot of clothing, most of which the dark-type had no idea of what it was called, as pokémon usually had no use for such things.

"Okay, let's go!" Pikachu ran ahead and Absol followed swiftly.

* * *

Back with Tapu-Koko and Sebastian, the guardian deity was currently leading the human out of the forest and towards human civilization. Using the opportunity of having a human as a conversation partner, Tapu-Koko asked a lot of questions and Sebastian answered them to the best of his abilities.

"I have a simple job," the human explained currently. "I handle the cash at the company I work at or rather, I am currently being taught how to handle all the money that goes in and out of the company. It's pretty boring, but I was always good with numbers, so it was a given that I would get a job like that."

"It took me a long time to grasp the concept of currency," Tapu-Koko admitted. "Humans used to trade with goods, like fruits and tools in exchange for other things. And even though it has been so long, I still don't see the benefit of having one thing to get you everything."

"Think of it this way. You need some tools from a smith. You're a farmer that grows berries. So you trade the berries to get the tools. Now, imagine a having growing vegetables. He too needs tools, but the smith doesn't want vegetables. However, the berry man wants vegetables. So the vegetable guy trades with the berry guy and then he can trade the berries for tools. Now imagine a fourth human, this one selling stones to build houses. He needs tools. The smith doesn't want the stones, the berry guy doesn't want the stones, but the veggie guy wants them. So he trades with the veggie guy, then with the berry guy and then he can go to the smith. Are you following me?" Sebastian asked with a teasing grin.

To his credit, Tapu-Koko appeared to be not entirely confused. In fact, it seemed as if he had figured out what his temporary companion was getting at.

"So, since everyone wants something else, it is easier to address everyone's needs by having something that everyone wants," the guardian deity deduced.

"That's the basic idea behind money," the human nodded in confirmation.

"Hmm..." Tapu-Koko was thoughtful for a couple of seconds, before asking his next question. "Do you work together with pokémon?"

"Not at my place," Sebastian shook his head. He needed to climb over a fallen tree in order to follow the guardian deity. "I know they do it at other places, but not at my company. And I'm pretty sure there isn't a pokémon out there that enjoys sitting for six to eight hours a day while doing nothing but math all day."

"That does sound boring," Tapu-Koko admitted. "What do you do for fun then?"

"Mmm, not so much, to be honest," Sebastian shrugged. "I play cards with colleagues during break time, I go to the gym to train once or twice a week and I play video games. Oh, but I also love just wandering around my home and get lost."

Tapu-Koko blinked. "You love to get lost?"

The human smiled wistfully. "Well, I love to explore places I have never been to. I actually wanted to become an explorer when I was a kid. That was didn't work out, so I did the next best thing and turned exploring into a hobby of sorts. I'll just take a direction and see where I end up." The human grinned at the pokémon, who in return just looked at the hairless ape curiously.

"You're an odd human."

"The fact that I can talk to pokémon didn't tell you that already?" he asked.

"Ah yes," Tapu-Koko nodded. "I am rather curious. How come you can understand pokémon?"

Sebastian didn't answer immediately. He bit his lower lip and contemplated about his answer a little bit, before saying something. "I am not sure you're going to believe me." The human hesitated for a little bit and the guardian deity waited patiently for the answer to come. Sebastian looked at the pokémon with worry, before sighing and telling him.

"I got turned into a pokémon once. A cyndaquill to be precise."

The human fully expected the pokémon to denounce his claim, saying that this was impossible. However, to the surprise of the hairless ape, the guardian deity remained silent for several minutes and looked at the human during the entire time. Sebastian was getting nervous but didn't dare to say anything else, knowing from experience how easy it was to anger legendary pokémon.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the guardian deity nodded. "I believe you."

"Say what?!" Sebastian exclaimed in surprise and shock. "Just like that?!"

The electric and fairy-type looked straight ahead, his expression hard to read. "I have lived for a long time, Sebastian. I know when someone blatantly lies to my face," he explained. "I have also seen many things happening that most would consider impossible. The fact alone that the two of us are having a conversation is proof enough for me."

"Er... thanks. Haha, I wasn't expecting you to believe me like that, honestly," the human scratched the back of his head.

"I would love to hear the story as to how you came to be a pokémon," the guardian deity inquired.

Sebastian's smile disappeared and was replaced with a thoughtful expression. "That... that is something I never managed to figure out." He looked to the ground and stopped in his tracks. Tapu-Koko accidentally flew a bit too far and needed to backtrack in order to stay right next to the human.

"I... being a pokémon wasn't all bad. In fact, I had a lot of fun and made more friends than I have as a human. Still, even with the help of my pokémon friends, we never really found out who was responsible for this. We did find a way to turn me back into a human though." The human male sighed wistfully. "It's a pretty long story."

The guardian deity chuckled goodheartedly. "I can imagine it must be. I take it you had some trouble getting used to your new body."

"You have no idea," the human grumbled and continued walking. "Since I was a fire-type, all of a sudden it hurt taking a bath. Pikachu practically dragged my ass into the river every other day." He shivered. "One time she went as far as to paralyze me. Granted, I was doing my very best to avoid taking baths, read running away and or hiding underground. Hey, don't give me that look! I was a male teenager at the time! Hygiene isn't on top of their priority list!"

Tapu-Koko burst out laughing. "That has to be the silliest excuse I have ever heard!" the deity exclaimed between fits of laughter.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, will ya? Aren't you supposed to be some kind of deity? And aren't deities supposed to be, you know... dignified or something?"

The only response Sebastian got was a mischievous smirk on the guardian's part. The conversation would have typically gone on for a bit more, but as it turned out, the two had reached the place where Tapu-Koko wanted to bring the human, namely the Pokémon School.

"Holy cow!" Aforementioned human exclaimed when he saw the impressive complex right in front of him. "This place is bigger than the sports stadium back at home!"

"It is quite impressive," Tapu-Koko agreed. "As I understand it, the humans on this island build this in order to teach their young about Pokémon and other things."

"Now that's a school I'd actually be happy to visit," Tapu-Koko's temporary companion stated.

"So, this is the place you mentioned earlier?" Sebastian faced Tapu-Koko. "You think the people here can help me?"

"Indeed," the pokémon nodded.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye then? I definitely owe you one."

"Oh, I'm not parting ways with you as of now."

"You're not?"

Tapu-Koko smiled at the human. "Would you mind doing me a favor?"

* * *

"I am not sure if you have thought this one through..." Sebastian said concerned, now following the guardian deity onto the school grounds. "I may have been a pokémon at one point and experienced my fair share of battles, trust me. But I am not a trainer, not even by a long shot."

"On the contrary," Tapu-Koko disagreed. "The fact that you have participated in battles yourself gives you a unique perspective that any other trainer is lacking."

"Maybe, but I usually don't tell other pokémon to use "that" attack or perform "x" maneuver, when the enemy uses move "y." Plus, it's been years since my last real battle," the human argued.

"Do not worry. You won't be battling today. And I am sure you have not lost all of your experience, have you?"

Sebastian let out a sigh and shook his head. "Can't really say yes or no to that question, honestly. Well, I do owe you for getting me out of that forest, so if we don't want to embarrass ourselves, I at least need to know your move set."

"Move set?" Tapu-Koko repeated.

"You know, the attacks you know. Like, I know all of you guardians have a special attack that-"

"TAPU-KOKO?!" multiple voices exclaimed, interrupting Tapu-Koko's companion. Both pokémon and human had not noticed that they had found the human they had been looking for. This particular human was not alone, however. In fact from the looks of things, there was a small banquet going on, where pokémon and humans alike were enjoying their meals. Or rather they had been enjoying their meals until the two newcomers arrived. Now every single one of them was busy staring at the guardian deity and by proxy at the human accompanying him.

Tapu-Koko and Sebastian in the meantime had their gazes fixed on the one person Tapu-Koko wanted to challenge. Sebastian had had his suspicions before, but now that he saw the one and only, never seemingly aging Ash Ketchum in front of him, he knew he had landed in the anime "dimension" of pokémon. And the best part was, he only found the time to watch the first three episodes of the new season.

"Another blind "playthrough" I guess," the human muttered, chuckling at the joke that probably only he would understand at this point in time. "Alright Arceus, bring out the butter. I'm going to make toast."


	2. Chapter 2

**Trainer vs. Pseudo Trainer**

"Who are you?" Ash asked the newcomer after getting over his initial shock of seeing Tapu Koko again so soon.

"Who me?" The young man standing next to the floating pokémon asked.

"Yes, you," Ash confirmed.

"Me?" The man asked again.

"Yes!" the boy shouted getting agitated.

"You mean him?" the man asked, this time pointing at Tapu Koko. The electric and fairy-type gave his companion a confused look.

"No, you!" Ash shouted now really getting worked up.

"Him?" The man still pointed at the guardian deity.

"No! You!" the boy was now pointing with his finger at the newcomer.

"You sure you don't mean him?" The now pointed with both fingers at Tapu Koko, all while giving Ash the stupidest look the trainer had ever seen.

"No! I am talking to you! How hard is that to understand?!" Ash practically shrieked his hand balled into a fist.

"Psst! I'm sure he's talking about you." The man had been speaking in a stage whisper with the back of his hand right at his cheek while leaning in the direction of the guardian deity. He also could no longer suppress a teasing grin that appeared on his face, causing Ash to groan in realization.

"You did it on purpose didn't you?" the cap-wearing boy asked.

The man in return allowed himself a short laugh before answering. "What can I say? I've been meaning to pull this one off for a long time. Never had the opportunity, though." The man snickered, putting his arms behind his head. "I also never thought to pull this one off on you of all people, Ash Ketchup."

" _You know him?"_ Tapu Koko asked and he wasn't the only one who raised that question. All of Ash's new classmates and Professor Kukui stated the same question.

"How do you know me?" Ash asked, clearly confused as he had never met the man before.

"Pff, how can't I know you?" the man asked in return. "I may not watch the Pokémon League on a regular basis, but even I have heard of your double A battery," he pointed at Pikachu, who was standing in front of the foot bowl for pokémon "beating a freaking Latios, a legendary pokémon, in one to one combat!"

"SAY WHAT?!" Everyone except for Sebastian, Ash and Pikachu exclaimed. Pikachu in particular suddenly found himself being swarmed by the pokémon belonging to the students and in Rockruff's case to Professor Kukui. Even for Sebastian, who understood pokémon, it was hard to make out what they were saying. From the few words he picked out, he could hear that they asked if that was true, how cool Pikachu was and even if the little rodent had met other legendaries, which funnily enough, was correct.

Ash in the meantime didn't notice the stupefied looks he was receiving from his fellow humans or the special attention his partner was getting at the moment, because his attention was now solely focused on the human who recognized him. The cap-wearing boy had a sheepish grin on his face and scratched the back of his head.

"You have seen that?" he asked.

"I watched the replay after I heard what happened," Sebastian clarified, which technically speaking wasn't totally untrue. "Seriously though, how the heck did that dude not only get one but two legendary pokémon under his wing? Makes you wonder how the rest of his team looked like."

Ash flinched a little at the mere thought of fighting an entire team consisting of nothing but legendary pokémon. At the same time, the idea excited him and he couldn't help but mentally go over his pokémon list to see who he would use next time he met Tobias.

"Anyways, seeing as I practically stunned your friends to silence, how about I give them the knockout punch, so to speak?" Ash and Tapu Koko looked at Sebastian with varying degrees of worry on their faces. Sebastian looked at Tapu Koko and pointed with his thumb sideways at Ash.

"He didn't happen to be the one you were talking about?"

Tapu Koko looked over to Ash, who was even more confused at this point, especially when Tapu Koko nodded.

" _Incidentally, yes,"_ the guardian deity confirmed. _"I… I had no idea about his previous exploits, however. Now I really want to give it my all in the battle against him."_

"And now I wish I had my phone with me," Sebastian lamented, turning his attention back to the boy in front of him. "It would have made one awesome video."

"Uh… what's going on?" Ash asked, blinking. He barely noticed Pikachu running away from his fellow pokémon and jumping on Ash's shoulder for safety.

" _No one told me being famous was this exhausting,"_ the pure electric-type said more to himself than to anyone else.

"Right then. Ash Ketchup-"

"It's Ketchum," Ash corrected.

"Ash Ketchup-"

"It's Ket-!" Ash interrupted himself when he saw the shit eating grin on the opposites face. He scowled as the adult went on as if nothing happened.

"My name is Sebastian. I am the leader of Rescue Team Soulstorm."

"Rescue Team/ _Rescue Team?"_ Ash and Pikachu repeated, though they didn't have much time to ponder those words, as the next words figuratively knocked them out of their socks.

"Tapu Koko and I challenge Pikachu and you to a one on one Pokémon Battle!" Sebastian declared out loud, which finally snapped the peanut gallery out of their stupor.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" the shout could be heard throughout the entire island.

* * *

"Who does he think he is?" Kiawe grumbled as he and the rest of his classmates watched the newcomer, the so-called leader of Team Soulstorm, whatever that was, seemingly having a conversation with Tapu Koko in the distance. He was talking to the guardian deity as if it was just another pokémon and Kiawe didn't know what angered him more. The sheer lack of respect this Sebastian personality showed to a guardian deity or the sheer audacity of acting as if he understood what the guardian was saying.

"Ash, did you really fight a legendary pokémon?" Lillie asked the question that plagued everyone's mind. Ash and Pikachu looked at each other solemnly, before he looked back at the others.

"Yeah," he confirmed. "There was this trainer, Tobias. I heard he did the entire tournament with just his Darkrai."

"A Darkrai?" Professor Kukui almost shouted, but he managed to keep his voice in check. He was holding Rockruff in his arms, who was seemingly oblivious as to what was going on around him and simply enjoyed the free ride he was getting. "So he had two legendary pokémon?"

Ash nodded, which caused the jaws of everyone else to drop. "What kind of trainer has two legendary pokémon in their team?!" Sophocles exclaimed, frantically waving his arms.

"I don't know. But I was the only one who managed to beat his first two pokémon."

"Pi-Pikachu!"

Ash and Pikachu grinned proudly at their achievement. "Sadly, I was out of pokémon after beating Latios and dropped out of the tournament."

"Pika-Chu!" Pikachu's cheeks sparked dangerously.

"That's right, buddy," Ash confirmed. "Next time, we'll get them!" Ash gave Pikachu a bro first, which the electric-type returned.

"Ash, aren't you in the least worried that you're going to fight Tapu Koko soon?" Mallow asked, with Bounsweet on her shoulder. "Boun…" the grass-type appeared to be worried as well.

"I am wondering," Lana looked over to Sebastian, who appeared to be still absorbed in his "conversation" with Tapu Koko "did he actually managed to catch Tapu Koko?" she asked. That gave everyone, pokémon included a pause. The group looked over to the duo, seeing the human wildly gesturing with his arms.

"You're literally flying, how can you not know the attack fly?!" he shouted.

"Koko, tapu, tapu…"

"I don't care if you're technically floating, it still doesn't make any sense!"

"Tapu Kokooo!"

"How the heck do you know how to use Brave Bird, but not Fly?!"

Ash and the gang sweatdropped at the exchange that was going on between the human and the pokémon. Sophocles let out a scoff at the entire scenario playing in front of him.

"Why does he act as if he understands what Tapu Koko is saying?" Sophocles asked with a scoff, his pokémon rolling around at his feet.

"Who knows?" Kukui made his presence known. "Maybe it's how he communicates with all pokémon? Or maybe he actually understands them," the professor said with a smile.

"You don't really believe that, do you, professor?" Kiawe asked with a deadpan expression, to which the Professor laughed.

"Of course, I'm just kidding. But trainers who have spent a lot of time with their pokémon eventually do learn to pick up on certain signs on their pokémon, so they can at least interpret what they're saying," the man explained.

"I know that," Kiawe replied. "But still, who actually is this guy? I'm pretty sure I would have heard of someone who had actually caught Tapu Koko-"

"The entire island, no, all of Alola would be in an uproar," Lana confirmed.

"Popplio…"

"Well, I guess it's a good thing I didn't catch the dude then." Everybody looked up when they saw Sebastian and Tapu Koko approaching the group. Ash looked excited and he could feel Pikachu's sparks tickling his cheek. His partner was ready for battle and this would most likely be a good one.

"Just for clarification, I am going to be acting as a pseudo trainer in this battle. I never caught Tapu Koko or anything."

"Tapu," the guardian deity nodded.

"Then why are you acting as if you were his trainer?" Lillie asked, making sure she kept her distance from all of the pokémon.

"Long story short, the dude over here," Sebastian pointed at the deity "saved my ass not too long ago from being turned into grass." There was a short moment of silence. "Unintentional rhyme is unintentional."

Ash couldn't help but snicker.

"Moving on, I am simply returning the favor by helping him having an as real Trainer Battle as possible."

"Koko," the deity confirmed again with a nod.

"For real?" Kiawe asked in shock. If he hadn't seen the guardian deity confirming the words of the young man, he would have called him a liar and challenged him to a battle himself. However, with Tapu Koko here, he couldn't do that.

"Really? He saved your life?!" Lillie shouted in shock.

"Yeah…" Sebastian looked embarrassed to the ground. "It's… complicated. I'll tell you guys later. 'Cause for now," he punched his fist into his palm. "It's not every day you get to fight an experienced trainer like Ash with a legendary pokémon on your side. Hey Pikachu, do us a solid and last longer than a minute." The human teased the electric-type.

"Pika, pika!" was the electric-type's response.

"Oh really?" the human asked, crossing his arms. "That's a pretty high tally to fulfill, you know? Let's see if you can put your mouth where your mouth is."

Without saying another word, Sebastian and Tapu Koko turned around and walked towards the fighting field on the school grounds.

"Pika?" Pikachu tilted his head.

"I something wrong Pikachu?" Ash asked.

"Pi-pi. Pikachu." But of course there was only so much Ash could interpret, so in the end, he didn't get what his longtime partner was saying.

"Don't listen to him, Ash," Kiawe advised. "He's probably just feeling overconfident since he has Tapu Koko at his side."

"Piiikaa!" Pikachu shook his head. "Pii, pii. Pikachu, pi."

"Huh, it looks like Pikachu wants to say something," Professor Kukui pointed. "Unfortunately, none of us are really versed in the pokémon language. Sorry, buddy."

Pikachu let out a disappointed sigh.

"Hey, don't worry about it, Pikachu," Ash assured, stroking his partner's cheek. "Whatever it is, you can tell us after we're done here, right?"

Pikachu looked at his trainer for a moment, before nodding.

"Alright!" Ash pumped a fist into the air. "Let's go and fight Tapu Koko!" With that declaration, the young boy ran ahead. The others followed him at a slower pace.

"I can't believe Ash is going to fight Tapu Koko," Mallow spoke as she and the others followed Ash to the battlegrounds.

"I can't belief Tapu Koko is going to take orders from a substitute trainer," Lana voiced her thoughts, carrying Popplio in her arms.

"Yeah, it is unbelievable, but it is happening right in front of our eyes," Kukui said thoughtfully.

"Tapu Koko must see something in those two, but what?" Kiawe asked.

"Well, Ash is a very experienced trainer. He traveled quite a lot before coming to Alola," the professor informed the others.

"He did?" Lillie asked to which the man nodded.

"Yes. Tapu Koko must have seen this experience in Ash. At least, that is the only explanation I can think of at the moment. As for Sebastian, well, it looks like he and Tapu Koko get along just fine. Who knows, maybe after Tapu Koko saved him, they've become friends?" Kukui shrugged.

"Friends," Kiawe repeated but shook his head. "I guess we won't know until we ask."

* * *

Five minutes later Sebastian and Ash were staring at each other from opposite sides of the battlefield. Pikachu was still positioned on Ash's shoulder, while Tapu Koko was floating right next to Sebastian, waiting patiently.

("So this is the view trainers get when facing each other.") Sebastian noted inside his head. ("It's totally different from being on the field myself. I feel like a general of an army who is pondering over a map while trying to come up with the best troupe formation possible. At the same time, I feel myself reminded of the first time I fought someone in the games, using the link cable. Ah, those were the times…")

Sebastian shook his head. ("Okay, focus. It's time to come up with a strategy. Pikachu is a speedster through and through and Ash is going to use that speed somehow. Since I only have Tapu Koko at my disposal, I'm going to need to outspeed him. Then there's Ash himself. I only watched 'till the Hoenn Arc, but that dude came up with more bullshit strategies in that arc alone than me during the entire time I was a pokémon. The difference of course is, his strategies worked.") Sebastian clenched his fist. ("We need to take out Pikachu before Ash can think of something. Unfortunately, Tapu Koko's move set doesn't give me the best of options.")

Sebastian was brought out of his musings, by Kukui entering the middle of the battlefield. "Alright Ash, your final surprise. Though in all honesty, this is as much a surprise to the rest of us, as it is to you." The professor laughed. Sebastian barely noticed Ash's classmates standing nearby with their pokémon out as well.

"Now then, the final surprise is a one on one pokémon battle. Ash and Pikachu, you will battle Sebastian and Tapu Koko!"

"Best of luck, Sebastian!" Ash shouted.

"Call me Seb!" Ash's opponent shouted back. "And trust me, luck is the last thing you want to rely on during a fight." ("Because it screwed me over more times than I can count.")

"If everyone is ready," Kukui raised his hand "begin!"

"Let's go Pikachu!" "Pika!"

Pikachu launched himself from Ash's arm onto the battlefield. Tapu Koko nodded at his partner and said: _"Let's do it."_

"If we actually win, I'm gonna buy you lunch," Sebastian promised, not sounding so confident anymore all of a sudden. Tapu Koko eyed the human for a second longer, before entering the battlefield. No sooner had he done that, the area suddenly became static. Everyone could feel their hair standing up and the world looked like someone had put a yellow filter over it.

"What is going on?!" Ash exclaimed in shock. Everyone, except for Tapu Koko and Sebastian looked around in wonder.

"Tapu Koko's ability, Electric Surge!" Sebastian shouted. "It's like the attack Electric Terrain! For five minutes every electric attack does 50% more damage!"

"Is that so?" Ash smirked. "Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" did Ash give his first order to Pikachu. Charging electricity through his body, Pikachu launched a bolt of lightning at Tapu Koko. The guardian deity reacted on instinct and put a shield up, minimizing the damage to almost zero. Pikachu and Ash were baffled when they saw what happened.

"It didn't work!"

"Agility, get close!" Tapu Koko heard his pseudo trainer shout. The electric and fairy-type didn't know why Sebastian wanted to combine movement with agility, but since Tapu Koko wanted a real trainer battle, he executed the orders anyway.

Faster than the human eye could track, Tapu Koko seemingly teleported right in front of the opposing Pokémon, who got startled by his appearance alone.

"Nature's Madness!"

Before Ash or Pikachu could even question what that attack was supposed to be, Tapu Koko slammed his fist to the ground and unleashed a pink wave in front of him. Pikachu got hit almost instantly, because of the proximity. Pink lightning struck Pikachu and the electric-type flew backward, howling in pain because that attack hurt a lot.

"Pikachu!" Ash shouted in concern, as his pokémon flew past him and landed uncomfortably on the ground a bit outside the arena. "Are you alright?" the trainer shouted backward. To his relief, Pikachu was quickly back on his feet and ran back to Ash.

"Pika! Pikachu!" The rodent assured as he stood right next to Ash.

"Alright, let's go Pikachu!"

"I wouldn't be so confident."

"Huh?" Ash looked in front of himself and saw that Tapu Koko had retaken his starting position.

"You see, Nature's Madness is an exclusive move to all guardian deities. If it hits, it costs the receiver 50% of their remaining life force," Sebastian explained.

"Did he just say 50%?!" Sophocles exclaimed in shock.

Kukui frowned. "So that's why he wanted Tapu Koko to get so close. To make sure the attack actually connected. Now Sebastian and Tapu Koko have a massive advantage over Ash and Pikachu."

" _That's why you wanted me so close?"_ Tapu Koko asked.

"That thing is a speedster. Take it from someone whose best friend is a Pikachu." Sebastian frowned. "Speedsters have the annoying habit of being pretty good at dodging."

" _Speaking from experience?"_

"Electroball!" Ash announced.

"Oh shit," Sebastian cursed. "Can you block it?" he asked quickly, as he saw the aforementioned Electroball appearing on Pikachu's tail of all places. Tapu Koko's answer was just to close his shell just before Pikachu launched the ball at the guardian deity. Said guardian flew a little backward when the attack connected but didn't appear to be worse for wear.

"He's tough," Ash grumbled.

" _Yeah…"_ Pikachu agreed.

"Forgotten that we used Agility?" Sebastian taunted.

"That's right!" Kukui realized. "The damage Electroball does is higher, when the user is faster than the opponent."

"But, Tapu Koko is already a fast Pokémon!" Lillie exclaimed. "And he used Agility, which makes him even faster."

"Show 'em your own Electroball!" Sebastian ordered, to which the guardian deity obliged. Ash grit his teeth as he saw the familiar attack forming in front of Tapu Koko. And since he was faster than-

"That's it! Pikachu, Agility, then Quick Attack!"

Pikachu smirked. It had been a while since they had used that combo. Using the extra speed Agility gave him, Pikachu simply jumped away as the attack flew past him. Ignoring the explosion in the back, Pikachu continued his advance, until he was close enough to jump. Both Pokémon grunted when their bodies connected. Tapu Koko once again flew a little backward but managed to catch himself.

"Yes, a direct hit!" Ash cheered.

"Agility, Tapu! Try to stay ahead in speed!" Sebastian shouted.

"Pikachu, do the same!" Ash ordered immediately.

"Stop him with Quick Attack!"

This proved to be a fruitless endeavor. Pikachu may not be a legendary pokémon, but he had had his fair share of near misses in the past. He dodged every single time when Tapu Koko came closer to him. No matter the angle, the guardian deity couldn't land a single hit. It especially didn't help that Pikachu used his Agility attack to get around the battlefield quicker.

"Forget it, Tapu Koko. You're both on plus six." Sebastian said annoyed. At the same time, the effect of Electric Surge wore off, returning the world to normal.

"Plus six?" Lana repeated.

"A Pokémon can only increase or decrease each of its stats six times," Professor Kukui explained. "Both Tapu Koko and Pikachu have used Agility so often that they can't get any faster than they are."

"Let's see if this works. Electroball!"

"Do the same, Pikachu!"

Both electric-types charged their attacks up respectively and threw them at each other. This resulted in both balls colliding in mid-air, which in return ended up in an explosion. The shockwave threw up a lot of dust and neither trainer dared to give an order until they saw the result of the clash. Not that there was much of a result to speak of, mind you. Pikachu and Tapu Koko may have gotten a little bit of dirt in their faces, but else they were fine.

"Okay, the heck?! Don't tell me the two of them are actually speed tied!?" Sebastian exclaimed.

"It looks that way…" Ash conceded. "Pikachu! Use Thunder!"

"Do the same! Try to get through his attack!"

Once again both pokémon charged up their attacks and both collided in midair. The result was roughly the same: an explosion, dust and all it did was drain the pokémon's stamina a little bit.

"Crap! I forgot Tapu Koko's special attack is shit." Sebastian growled.

" _What is that supposed to mean!?"_ Tapu Koko shouted, clearly angry.

"It means, you're better suited for melee damage! That Pikachu has trained so hard, special attacks won't cut it, since they're your weak point!" Sebastian shouted back. "Unfortunately your moveset gives us little wiggle room when it comes to melee fighting.

Tapu Koko growled, but inwardly he knew it was true. It was why he used Electric Terrain usually, as it covered his weakness.

" _I can use Electric Terrain."_

"That way, we'll only give them an advantage, since their attacks get boosted too." Sebastian shook his head. "This is going to be a war of attrition. Spark! We need a solid hit!"

Ash had been watching the whole exchange with fascination. It indeed had seemed like his opponent just had a real conversation with Tapu Koko. Unfortunately, his mind needed to get back to the fight.

"Dodge, Pikachu!"

"Pika!" Pikachu jumped out of the way, causing Tapu Koko to hit the ground.

"Get close with Quick Attack and Spark! He can't dodge forever!"

But even Ash knew that he needed to find a way to counterattack, quickly. Pikachu kept dodging left and right, up and down, but the guardian deity was relentless. The electric sparks around its body never disappeared and at one point Pikachu was forced to use his own Quick Attack to dodge. Unfortunately Tapu Koko was on his case and eventually, the guardian deity landed a solid hit on the back.

"Pikaaa!" Pikachu screamed in pain and landed on his stomach. Luckily for the rodent, Tapu Koko actually needed to catch his breath for a moment meaning the deity couldn't finish the fight just yet.

"You okay?" Sebastian asked.

" _I have never seen anyone who could keep up with my speed. This is exciting, if exhausting."_

Ash in the meantime grit his teeth. He tried to come up with a strategy, but so far Pikachu hadn't been able actually to damage the opponent. Pikachu's attacks either got blocked by Tapu Koko's shield or straight up parried by an attack.

"Still ready to go?" he asked, looking down.

"Pika!" Pikachu gave his trainer a thumbs up, even if his breath was a little heavier than usual.

"Good!" Ash held up his arm and was about to give new orders, when he noticed something on his arm: namely the Z-Ring and the Z-Crystal implanted on said ring. "This might actually work. Pikachu! Let's use our Z-Move!"

"Say what?!" Sebastian exclaimed in shock.

" _Finally,"_ Tapu Koko smiled. _"I thought they have forgotten about it."_

" _I wish they had forgotten about it,"_ Sebastian lamented. Tapu Koko looked back at his temporary trainer. Something about the way he just spoke seemed different than from before. He wasn't the only one who noticed this change.

"Why is he talking like a Cyndaquill all of a sudden?" Kiawe asked.

Sebastian's eyes widened when he saw Ash and Pikachu perform the necessary movements in order to execute the Z-Move. Desperately trying to ignore the aura surrounding them, he spoke quickly.

" _Okay, listen. On my mark, you fly high into the air. Once their attack passes, you finish them off with Brave Bird. Okay?"_

Tapu Koko nodded, smiling as he did so. Overhearing dark-skinned child in the audience allowed him to realize what was different in Sebastian's speech pattern. If there had been any doubt left, it was all gone now. This human had once been a Pokémon.

"Let's go!"

"Piiikaaaa!"

Sebastian narrowed his eyes as he observed the movements of his opponents. At the same time, Tapu Koko got ready to ascend to the heavens.

"Taaaaake thiiiiis!"

"NOW!" Sebastian shouted on top of his lungs. Not a moment too late, Tapu Koko took off into the air.

"Whoa!" the audience exclaimed as their gazes followed Tapu Koko into the sky. Once the guardian deity was at a comfortable height, he looked down and observed the battlefield. It was then that he noticed a slight problem with his partner's plan. And said partner became all too aware of the problem himself.

"Fuu- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Because due to the trajectory of the Gigavolt Havoc, Sebastian became the new target for the attack.

The audience and combatants alike watched in horror as the human screamed in pain, his entire body surrounded by electricity. Tapu Koko quickly dived back down and by the time he arrived, the voltage had already dispersed.

"Oh no!" "Pika!"

Ash, Pikachu and Kukui quickly ran up to the quivering and thoroughly roasted human. His skin and clothes had become dark from the heat the electricity generated. His hair stood up and had become spiky. Occasional sparks were escaping his body and a faint whimper could be heard.

" _Sebastian! Talk to me! Are you alright?!"_ Tapu Koko asked his companion. Somehow the human managed to open his eyes and mouth. However, instead of actual sound waves, only smoke escaped his mouth, which formed the letters: E

After that, the human fell straight on his back and lost consciousness.

"Oh no!" Kukui hurried by his fellow adult's side and checked for a pulse first and foremost. The man flinched when a spark of electricity went through his own body, but he ignored it. Luckily and by some miracle, Sebastian's pulse was only slightly out of rhythm.

"Professor… I…"

"It was an accident, Ash," Kukui assured his student before he could even start to break down. "He looks fine, relatively speaking. But we better get an ambulance fast." Kukui grabbed into his pocket but quickly noticed that it was empty.

"Now of all times? Hey, does anyone of you a phone- ooomph!" Kukui suddenly found himself interrupted by something slamming into him. Kukui landed on his back and something fell on his chest. Before anyone could even get a glimpse of the projectile, another one hit Ash, sending him flying. Luckily he was used on getting beaten up by his pokémon, accidentally and otherwise.

"OW!" It still hurt though.

"What the..." Kukui muttered.

"That hurt..."

Ash and the Professor looked up and found themselves face to face with their assailants. In Kukui's case, it turned out to be an Absol wearing a red scarf and having a box strapped around its chest. In Ash's case, it, funnily enough, turned out to be another Pikachu. It too was wearing a red scarf only it had something attached to its scarf.

The two Pokémon quickly lost interest in the humans and turned their attention towards the two pokémon.

 _"Hey! What are you- ARGH!"_ But Pikachu too got interrupted. The Absol and other Pikachu seemingly in synch attacked Ash's Pikachu and Tapu Koko at the same time.

 _"What is the meaning of this?!"_ the guardian deity demanded to know. Too late he noticed that the emblem the other Pikachu was wearing was actually an exact copy of the one Sebastian had attached to his shirt. Speaking of him, the two new pokémon were giving him a once-over, looking worried during the short time they did that. However, their worry was quickly replaced with murderous intent, which was directed at both Ash's Pikachu and Tapu Koko.

 _"You are dead meat."_ The scarf wearing Pikachu intoned and attacked.


	3. Chapter 3

Absol growled in frustration at Pikachu's behavior. Yes, she was angry too at the Pokémon that had presumably attacked their partner. The two of them didn't see what happened. The only reason the two knew a battle had been going on was because of the shouting, not to mention the sound of Thunderbolts being shot out left and right.

The two immediately stopped their questioning of other Pokémon, they had very quickly learned that humans did not understand Pokémon, thanks to a helpful Litten, and decided to check out what was happening in the distance. They arrived just in time to see an gigantic wave of electricity hitting a by then unknown human.

In their haste, they didn't listen what the others said to themselves. They just saw someone getting attacked and hurt to the point where he lost consciousness. As a Rescue Team it was their job to intervene. As such, the unspoken plan had been to put themselves between the fighting parties and rough them up if necessary.

Absol, who was carrying their box filled to the brim with useful stuff, decided she would see if she couldn't provide first aid for the fallen human. They had almost reached the area the humans were in, when both suddenly stopped abruptly.

Naturally the two had started making out the smells of the different parties a long time ago. And the closer they got, the more intense the different scents became. Incidentally, it was easier for them to distinguish each scent also the closer they got. And that's when they noticed a very peculiar smell, one that was integrated into their very brains, but none of the two had smelled in years.

A person naturally emitted a multitude of smells. For a human for example it would be the natural smell of a human, very different from Pokémon in general, whether they were male or female, their clothes, scents that got stuck on them and their clothes (like food, sand, grass etc.) and finally their very own scent. Every creature had his or her very own scent. With that Pokémon are able distinguishing between two very alike looking Pikachus and such.

Right at this very moment, the electric and the dark-type smelled the personal scent of none other than their former human leader. He may have been turned into a Pokémon back then, but he always had that one scent coming from him that made him very easily distinguishable from other Pokémon. And right now, this one scent was coming from the crispy human, lying unconscious on the ground.

Pikachu saw red. Absol too was close to losing herself, but managed to control herself. This was no time for hasty decisions and yet, here was her longtime partner, charging at the male Pikachu with a Quick Attack. The opposing Pikachu managed to dodge the surprise attack, but Absol's partner quickly followed it up by a Thunderbolt.

("Damn, that mouse! Our leader needs medical attention and she charges in like an angry Tauros!") the disaster Pokémon thought to herself. Naturally, the other Pokémon, Absol didn't recognize this one, decided to help its friend and flew towards the female mouse. Said rodent saw the attack coming from a mile away and blocked the incoming strike with an Iron Tail. Her tail clashed with the right shield part of the unknown Pokémon, who appeared surprised that its attacked was blocked.

" _What?!"_ the, due to the voice, now identified male shrieked.

The Pikachu with the heart tail gave the Pokémon a cold look, before pushing it away with her tail. Seeing as her partner was handling herself rather well, Absol decided to for the moment turn her attention to her old leader.

Ash and Professor Kukui in the meantime had gotten up from the ground and witnessed the entire spectacle. The female Pikachu shot a powerful Thunderbolt at Tapu-Koko, who shielded himself in time and counterattacked with a Thunderbolt of his own. Pikachu, Ash's one, mimicked his legendary partner and shot the same attack at the female Pikachu.

She in return jumped into the air, combining her Quick Attack with her Agility move, gaining an additional extra height. She looked down at both of her opponents and shot a Thunder at both of them. Tapu-Koko flew out of the way, whilst the male Pikachu copied his opponent and combined his Agility and Quick Attack to jump into the air. Seeing as his female counterpart couldn't dodge while she was falling, he shot a Thunder of his own at her, hitting her in mid-air.

The heart tailed Pikachu didn't scream. She growled more in annoyance, than in pain. The attack didn't do much, obviously, but her opponent had successfully gotten first blood. Somehow this little fact annoyed her more than the pain. Maybe it was her wish to beat everyone in the area to a pulp that made her more susceptible to anger.

Deciding on a new tactic, the female Pikachu used Double Team, creating a multitude of mirages of herself all over the battlefield. Her male counterpart looked left and right, trying to identify the right one. Tapu-Koko on the other hand didn't bother. He flew right into the middle of the mirages and used his Discharge to make them all disappear. The real female Pikachu stumbled because of the hit she took and skidded across the ground a bit, but managed to get back on her paws rather quickly.

"I don't get it. Why is she attacking us?" Ash asked, during a brief pause.

"I think I know why," Professor Kukui replied, looking over to the Absol that had knocked him down. The disaster Pokémon had placed the pink and white box she had been carrying on the ground and opened the lit earlier. Carefully she had taken out an assortment of items and placed them right next to her. The Pokémon Professor saw Oran and Rawst Berries, jaws that contained some kind of blue jelly and in its mouth the Absol was carefully carrying a green glowing stone. No, on further inspection, the Professor could see that it appeared to be a seed of some kind. Or maybe it was a stone in the shape of a seed.

Whatever the item was, Absol none the less placed it inside the hand of the ashen covered young man. And all of a sudden the Professor was blinded by a bright yellow light, coming from said man. The three electric-types ceased their fighting and looked towards the light. The Alolan natives did the same. Everyone who wasn't familiar with the seed stared at the spectacle in front of them in wonder.

"What is that?" Kiawe asked, shielding his eyes with his arm.

"I don't know," was Sophocles unhelpful reply.

"It's so bright," Lana muttered.

The light show soon enough died down and everyone was more or less capable of seeing once again. Several gasps could be heard throughout the courtyard, when seemingly out of nowhere Sebastian sat up with a grown. His hand held tightly to the seed, his expression looked like he had just exited a rollercoaster ride and his eyes seemed slightly unfocused.

"Anyone got the number of Wailord that hit me?" he asked in a slurred tone, turning his head towards the disaster Pokémon that was looking at him with a smile. The young man shook his head, causing a few ash particles to fall out of his hair and slowly descending towards the ground. After the shake, he had a slightly more focused look on himself, although he still looked a bit disoriented.

"Absol?" he asked, putting a hand on his head. Sebastian then caught something from the corner of his vision and turned his gaze towards what caught his attention. It was the box and his eyes widened in great surprise, when he saw the white and pink thing standing right next to his feet.

"Wait a sec, what?!" he shouted all of a sudden and looked back to Absol, who had the same smile plastered on her face.

" _It has been quite some time, hasn't it?"_ she asked. _"Oh, of course. You don't understand me now…"_

"The heck? That you Miss Absolute Disaster?! That really you?!" he shouted, causing the dark-type to give him a deadpan expression.

" _And even now, you're still going on with that joke…"_ she muttered just loud enough for him to hear. Sebastian smirked.

"Oh, come on. It's a classic at this point." Was his argument.

" _Seb!"_

"Huh? Pikach?!"

The fight seemingly forgotten, Pikachu slammed herself into her old friend's chest, causing him to gasp, as the air was pressed right out of his lungs. Ignoring the ash, Pikachu snuggled deeply into human's chest. Said human was once again lying on the ground, desperately trying to get some air into his lungs.

The Alolan natives, as well as Ash and his male Pikachu partner were looking at the entire spectacle in quiet confusion. At this point they had no idea as to what was going on anymore. The only exception was Tapu-Koko, who had some idea as to what was going on. He hoped now that the human was somehow once again awake, the entire misunderstanding could be explained away.

Sebastian managed to get up once again, after about half a minute or so, wrapping his arms around the female mouse.

"Hey," he said, looking down at the electric-type, who in return was looking up at him with sparkling eyes. "It's been a while, huh?"

" _You're damn right it's been a while!"_ Pikachu shouted, trying to sound aggressive, but failing miserably, as she was just too happy.

" _You and I are going to have a long talk mister! A very long indeed! But before that, I am going to give you a shock therapy that will put Zapdos' power to shame! And don't even think about running away or I throw you straight into the ocean!"_

Sebastian knew the threat was very much real. And he could easily guess as to why his old partner was so upset with him. He had know idea how she had ended up with him in this particular space of the multiverse, but he couldn't care less at the moment. He and his friends were reunited and it could only get better from here on out. Now all he needed to do was to avoid getting electrocuted a second time today.

"Can I plead the fifth?" he asked in fake despair. "I already got my brain fried today. Speaking of fried, holy shit I need a shower!" he shouted, now noticing the ash all over his skin and clothes. He then looked up towards the other Pokémon and people, specifically eyeing Ash and Pikachu.

His two friends followed his gaze, their faces hardening.

" _Right, we still have to take care of them."_

"What?" Seb asked, but his question remained unanswered as Pikachu jumped out of his arms.

" _Stay back. We'll take care of them."_ Although Absol still believed her human friend couldn't understand her, she hoped to have gotten the general message across by the tone of her voice alone.

"Whoa, whoa, time out! Time out!" Sebastian quickly placed himself in front of his friends, surprising both Pokémon. "As entertaining as it would be watching you two massacre those guys," he pointed with a finger at the male Pikachu and Tapu-Koko "do you guys mind explaining to me why you want to beat them up? Did I miss anything, while I was out?"

Before anyone else could speak up, Tapu-Koko quickly flew next to Sebastian. Absol and Pikachu tensed up, but didn't attack in fear of accidentally hurting the human.

" _From what I understand, those two believed that we attacked you on purpose earlier and jumped in to defend you from further harm."_

"Ah!" Seb nodded understanding. "The Gigavolt Havoc, right? Hey, double A battery!" he shouted towards the male Pikachu, who looked up in surprise. "You owe me the money for the wash saloon."

" _Eh… what?"_ the male Pikachu asked, confused.

"Don't worry, don't worry guys," Sebastian spoke directed towards his old team. "It was just an accident. Granted that thing hurt more than anything Zapdos ever dished out against us…"

" _An accident?"_ The two Pokémon spoke up at the same time.

" _Wait, you can understand us?"_ Absol asked, to which Sebastian nodded.

"Somehow. I am not sure why, but I think it's got something to do with that, if you catch my drift."

"Ah, excuse me?"

Sebastian, Tapu-Koko, Absol and Pikachu turned towards the voice of Professor Kukui, who was carefully approaching the group of four.

"I am glad to see that you are alright and well," he spoke to Sebastian. "But I think I speak for everyone here if I say we're a bit out of the loop." He motioned towards his class and their respective partners, who indeed looked like they had just been listening to an advanced lecture about quantum physics.

"You think you're out of the loop? I am just waiting for Kyogre to show up and throw a tsunami at us."

" _Don't jinx us. You know what happened the last time."_

"How should I have known that we were practically invading Moltres' home?"

Absol shook her head in amusement at the interaction between Pikachu and Seb.

"Haha, sorry. Little inside joke between me and my pals here," Sebastian explained to Kukui, motioning at himself and the Pokémon besides him.

"I... uh... see. And... yeah, I guess a shower would be pretty adequate right now," Kukui acknowledged. "But, are you sure you're alright? I mean, you did just take in the full force of a Z-Move."

"Ah, don't worry," Seb waved off. "I'll explain it all later. For now, let's just say the thing here," he held up the used Reviver Seed "is way better than any Pokémon Center anywhere in the world. Okay, they don't come with a beautiful nurse, but I got these two beauties as consolation." He put his hands on Pikachu and Absol.

 _"Excuse me?"_ Absol and Pikachu spoke at the same time, giving their leader an aghast look each. Said leader began laughing.

"Oh man, oh man, hahaha. You should see your faces!"

Tapu-Koko allowed himself a small chuckled, when he saw the two female Pokémon giving their human friend a look that said they were rather displeased with his joke and were ready to make their displeasure known by more than just looking at him.


End file.
